State charges included kidnapping, first-degree burglary and false imprisonment of husband of Nancy Pelosi

The man who was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for attacking the husband ofĀ Nancy Pelosi with a hammer in theirĀ California home was sentenced on Tuesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole following a separate state trial.

AĀ San Francisco jury in June found David DePapeĀ guilty of chargesĀ including aggravated kidnapping, first-degree burglary and false imprisonment of an elder.

Before issuing the sentence, Judge Harry Dorfman dismissed arguments from DePapeā€™s attorneys that he be granted a new trial for the 2022 attack against Paul Pelosi, who was 82 years old at the time.

ā€œItā€™s my intention that Mr DePape will never get out of prison, he can never be paroled,ā€ Dorfman said while handing out the punishment.

  • Evilcoleslaw@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    7
    Ā·
    5 months ago

    Generally speaking the bar for the insanity defense isnā€™t even insanity. If he were insane but capable of understanding that beating someone with a hammer was wrong heā€™d fail to meet the bar. You basically have to have no idea at all what youā€™re doing or that itā€™s wrong, and you have the burden of proving it.

    • captainlezbian@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      Ā·
      5 months ago

      True. Itā€™s not ā€œpleading insanityā€ itā€™s pleading not guilty by reason of insanity. You can be off your damn rocker but unless your mental illness caused you to not understand that you were doing something wrong or illegal or that it caused you to believe you were in a position of legitimate self defense then youā€™re still guilty, just guilty and insane. And itā€™s not being let out. Itā€™s being sentenced to treatment however long it takes